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California here we come again


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We spent a quick few days in Disney over Easter. My husband had some business to do there so of course Disney was a no brainer. We drove from Wisconsin what a long drive! I won't bore you with all the details we had no weather or any other problems and made it safe.

 We have a Six Flags membership so, we get in all the parks for free. First stop was the park near San Francisco. We have never been here before and we thought it was a great park. Very clean lot's of plants and flowers. They have a little zoo in the back also a indoor butterfly garden. They also have dolphins, seals, stingrays, sharks and, some fish. They also have a variety of shows. Not a lot of thrill rides more family rides. It's a nice place to go even if you don't like rides!

We left and spent the night about half way to Anaheim.  

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Has I left off we spent the night about half way to Anaheim at a motel. We have not stayed at a motel in a while usually a hotel. We got there about 11 at night. The lobby is locked at night you have to go around the side of the building and they have a window with a bell. That was a first for me. I asked to go on the second floor seems a little bit more safe. I read reviews on line before booking get got a 7 out of 10. The room was fine for what we needed a quick sleep shower and a breakfast in the now open lobby in the morning.

 Has I said before my husband had some business to do. We have a small business that we deal with classic cars. We had a car trailer with that we would be dropping off before heading to Disney. My husband was buying a car the guy we were buying from was letting us keep the trailer at his house. We had never met this guy before talked on the phone a few times. He was super nice! We ended up staying by him talking longer than we expected.

After all this we finally made it to Anaheim. We were staying at the Harbor RV park. Now you might be wondering how are they staying there with no RV? Why not just stay at a hotel. Well because for one I knew we would just be sleeping there and I did not want to spend money if we didn't have to. Two we have a tent that we used to use. They have two tent sites. And three it was tax time and we had to pay. And last but not least we like to camp.

We set up our tent that looked huge in the space but really it's not. Did laundry made beds all that fun stuff. Then it was time for dinner we drove down the street to Pizza Press. It was not has good has it was last time we had it. Don't know what it was. It was still good but not great we prefer Blaze. There was some cast members there in uniform eating dinner. It seems strange to see that. I will leave off here up next Downtown Disney.

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After dinner we could not contain our excitement we had to get a Disney fix. We walked down the street crossed and just like that we were in Disney! It took about maybe 5 min.

The sad thing is the homeless people on the way. I must say that not once were we asked for money. I did see a few with a cup in hand. There was a guy right at the entrance with two parrot type of birds sorry I don't know my birds real well. He was asking 5 bucks for a picture. We just kept on walking. Once in the courtyard area my husband went back for our van. We did not feel right leaving it at the restaurant. There was open spaces when we left we would not of left it if people were waiting.

Once in my 18 year old son kept saying how magical it felt to be here. He likes other theme parks but, they don't give you that feeling. We raised him right LOL!

My son and I went in a few shops and looked around we watched a singer well sing for a few min. Took a few photos and just soaked everything up. My husband was waiting for us at the guest drop off at the Downtown entrance we said see you real soon and headed out. Next day is Disneyland who could sleep? Well we did it has been a long few days!

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It's been so long since I've been back to Disneyland.  Our family used to camp there too... but that was at a campground across the street from Disney that I think is now a parking garage.  Those were the days of the E ticket and then the card you wore on your wrist to go on a ride.  I've been back since then, but that trip was at the beginning of our marriage... 20 years ago.  We're saving up for a West Coast trip next year; I'm considering a stop at DL, but I'm not sure as it will only be one or two days.  It will be interesting to hear of your experience.  How were the lines?

Hotel or Motels... both give me the creeps anymore.  Too many germs... LOL

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We really try not to stay at hotels or motels but, when we do I wipe everything down that I think we might touch. We also bring in our own pillows and blankets.

If your thinking about Disneyland I would say go! We love it for some reason it seems more relaxed and the rides are better. 

We stayed at the closes places to camp. I will talk about lines later.

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Just a quick note before we left we had 4 inches of snow. It was so nice to see green trees, grass, flowers and, plants. 

I forgot to mention that when we got back to the RV park the fireworks were going off and you get a great view of them from there. What a great way to end the day. 

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We got up got ready and had a quick breakfast. This RV park has 2 showers so, I was happy that I did not have to wait. They also have what they call a club house. It has two tables with chairs, TV, micro, toaster oven and, a Keurig machine that you can buy a pod for a cup of coffee. This is where we ate our breakfast. My son being the typical teen guy wanted Taco Bell. There is one on the corner that we pass on the way to Disney. We had brought our bikes to ride so he headed off. We called him when we left and met on the corner. After a quick ride Disney was in our site! We entered at the Downtown entrance got through very quickly locked up our bikes at the bike rack. I had purchased tickets before we left so, no waiting for that. Again the entrance line was not bad at all and, just like that we were in! Park opened to the public at 8 we got in about 8:40. Not bad for us we are not morning people.

Up next what is the first ride?

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Ok, we are at Disneyland walk through the tunnel and the castle is under wraps because of it being re painted so, no pictures. We walk down main street and make a right. We are headed for SM. First thing we see is a walk on for ST my husband is not a fan of simulator rides. He heads over to get fast passes for SM. With no wait this was a no brainer. My son and I literally walk right on. After this my son and I head over to SM 10 min wait. Text husband we are riding this. For some reason this ride seems a little less jerky than DW and I like that we sit next to each other. It for some reason seems cool to us that you wait outside on the roof to get in. Meet my husband over by Buzz and again 10 min wait. I was the winner!

 Let me stop for a min and say I was worried that the crowds would be bad. With the holiday and spring break. I thought about buying a max pass but, I decided to wait and see. I don't really mind being the fast past runner. It brought back memories if the old DW. So far we are doing good. Did I make the right choice?

 Ok, back to the action. With 2 guys that love cars we had to ride the Autopia. We get in line and it is long. I'm thinking maybe I should of gotten the max pass. We bring out snacks from the back pack and wait. I think we waited about 40 min. This ride is longer and has cute things on display has you drive around. Plus my son thinks it's great to either bump my car or drive really slow in font of me. After this it is time for our fast pass for SM. This time we all ride. I know the Nemo subs is very popular but last time it smelled so bad in it like urine and was so stuffy we passed. Also passed on Astro and I can't remember what was playing in the theater at the entrance to SM but, that was also a pass. So, with Tomorrowland done we are out of here. On to Fantasyland.

 

 

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On to Fantasyland. First order of business was to get fast passes for Matterhorn. The machines are a little tricky to find had to ask a CM. With that done we headed over for Alice in Wonderland ride. The wait said 30 min and it looked like it.My son did not want to wait my husband did. Final verdict was on me, we waited. We were there it's a cute ride and who knows if line will get longer. Out came more snacks and before long we were zooming right along. I saw that the Magical map show would be starting soon. We really wanted to see this. We start to walk over and my son sees the Storyland boats this he wants to ride I say we will be back. We don't have time. Sorry to say he never got to ride. It's a small world though had a five min wait this we do have time for. I really like that that they have Disney characters through out this ride. It's fun to look for them. After a small delay at the end of the ride we hightailed it to the show. Just in time it was just starting and plenty of open seats. This was a really cute show I'm glad we got to see it. Our fast pass time was almost here so we took a slow walk back to the Matterhorn. This is a fun ride but, it really throws you around. So, we needed another fast pass where should we go next? Well Frontierland of course for the wildest ride in the west.

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4 minutes ago, Robin said:

On to Fantasyland. First order of business was to get fast passes for Matterhorn. The machines are a little tricky to find had to ask a CM. With that done we headed over for Alice in Wonderland ride. The wait said 30 min and it looked like it.My son did not want to wait my husband did. Final verdict was on me, we waited. We were there it's a cute ride and who knows if line will get longer. Out came more snacks and before long we were zooming right along. I saw that the Magical map show would be starting soon. We really wanted to see this. We start to walk over and my son sees the Storyland boats this he wants to ride I say we will be back. We don't have time. Sorry to say he never got to ride. It's a small world though had a five min wait this we do have time for. I really like that that they have Disney characters through out this ride. It's fun to look for them. After a small delay at the end of the ride we hightailed it to the show. Just in time it was just starting and plenty of open seats. This was a really cute show I'm glad we got to see it. Our fast pass time was almost here so we took a slow walk back to the Matterhorn. This is a fun ride but, it really throws you around. So, we needed another fast pass where should we go next? Well Frontierland of course for the wildest ride in the west.

Oh my gosh... hearing you talk about these ride (the Bobsleds, AIW, Storyland) brings back SO MANY memories!!  ❤️

Bummer on the sub smelling yuck.  I loved that ride growing up (wasn't the Nemo theme but still...).

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Upon entering Frontierland we grabbed fast pass for Big Thunder. With that in hand we headed over to New Orleans Square to ride pirates. This attraction does not have fast pass. We got in the 20 min line and made are way in. This ride is so much better than WDW ! It's really cool to ride past the Blue Bayou restaurant. With the park being smaller than WDW it really is not that far of a walk. After exiting the ride we saw that the Columbia was sailing that was something I really wanted to check out. With are fast pass up for Big Thunder we headed back over there. This ride has some special effects that WDW does not have. It's so fun! The line for the Columbia is not far from there so we headed over. The last of our snacks was brought out while we waited for the ship to return. While on board we headed down stairs and looked around, it is really something. They have a replica of what the ship would of looked like. Complete with bunks tables Captains quarters etc. Lot's to see. We then headed back on top for the rest of the trip. They have a cannon that they light off. Everyone was ready ears plugged cameras set and nothing. Everyone was watching the poor CM that was trying to light it. No luck just yelled boom. Some people gave a little chuckle.That was a bit of a let down. We went past some canoeing and we all waved and cheered them on. With that done we headed back to the dock. What should we do next?  

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How about a parade? Sounds good actually soundsational. Last year we watched the Pixar parade that was for Pixar fest. This year was Mickey's soundsational parade. We head back over to it's a small world to watch from there. This is where the parade starts. We got the last open spot on the end of the bricks. We have a half hour before it starts. We had lot's of entertainment while waiting. when people kept sitting next to me. There was a CM who was on top of this. Let me tell you this CM took his job very seriously. He watched like a hawk with his eagle eye lol! Once during the parade I kid you not my one toe came off the brick he ran right over and made me put my toe back on the bricks. I was very careful after this.  One of the dancers in the parade snuck up behind the CM and pulled his cap over his eyes. The CM looked embarrassed and gave a little smile. The parade was great enjoyed by all. The floats where beautiful music was very upbeat! Next up soaking it all in.

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After the parade we headed back to main street. I wanted to take a moment to just look up at the windows and, really admire them. We also went into the shops and just looked around. Before long we were headed into Adventureland. Checked the return fast pass time for Indiana Jones and decided to wait. We walked up Tarzan's tree house and down Tarzan's tree house. There is a great view of the park from up there. After exiting we found ourselves walking back into New Orleans square. Another ride on Pirates was in order.  We all really love this ride! After this we headed back into Fantasyland and rode Peterpan. The que was nothing special WDW has this one beat. And a wild ride on Mr. Toad was next. We were starting to get hungry and decided to leave to get dinner. But first went back into Adventureland and grabbed a fast pass for Indiana Jones that we can use when we get back. Next what's for dinner?

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Ok what's for dinner? When your in CA of course you go to In N Out Burger. We walked back to get our bikes and headed to the RV park. We drove to get food but, took it to go.

We ate on the picnic table that came with our site. Food was good cheaper than the parks and hit the spot. Now we had to get a move on to make our fast pass time. Heading back we did not need a bag that would save time in security. The nights are cool so sweatshirts were needed.

My husband decided he did not want to ride a little to rough for him. He would get us some Starbucks and meet us at the exit of the ride. We then did a fast walk into Adventure land for Indy. We scanned our tickets with one minute to spare. We got our workout walking in the que. No joke this is a long walk! We really enjoyed the ride it was great! Upon exiting there was my husband with our drinks he said he only was waiting a few min. We made our way out and headed into New Orleans square. There was a big crowd waiting for Fantasmic at this time. We headed over to HM there was only a 5 min wait but, we had our drinks. We grabbed a fast pass we would be back. We saw that Splash also had no wait but, at this time none of us wanted to get wet we sadly passed. Pooh also had a 5 min wait my son waited with the drinks while my husband and myself rode. Such a cute ride! It's getting close to firework time. We headed back over to Small world to watch from there. With the castle is under refurbishment no projections will be shown on it. They do projections on It's a small world though. Once we arrived there really wasn't a lot of people waiting we found a place and sit finish our drinks and relax. Mickey's Mix Magic started right on time. I loved the show it's so fun. We had plenty of space no crowding no one on shoulders no fighting for a spot it was great! There was families dancing people were singing along this is Disney! Oh I forgot to mention earlier in the day in Fantasy land we saw Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee playing red light green light with a group of children. This also is Disney. I just kept thinking how great for those kid's! Ok show is over what's next? Will we make it to close?

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We left off after the fireworks show. We could now go back and use our Haunted Mansion fast pass. We quickly made our way in and was in our doom buggy in no time. After this ride we were close to the train station and took a round trip ride. This is a great way to see the park. Also they have these displays set up to view. After this ride which maybe was a bit to relaxing at night we started to get tired. Not wanting to go yet we decided to head back over to Tomorrowland. My son wanted to ride Space again but, sorry to say at the time I just couldn't do it. My husband was done with this after his first ride there was a no from him. His next suggestion was buzz he wanted to try to win. Yes, we could all handle this. We pretty much walked right on there was a five min wait. My son lost again this time to his father. Ok, one more time we got off and went right back on. What do you know this time my son was the winner. How great we all won one. We were now done. The park was still open for about another half hour. There was stuff we didn't get to do but, we had another full day tomorrow. We sadly said good bye and made are out. We found our bikes and got back to the RV park in no time. We brought a small space heater with and turned it on just to take the chill out while we got ready for bed. Next how did we sleep?

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Ok, when we camp I always ear plugs unless it's somewhere that we are pretty much alone. This was not the case here. For one you are in the city lot's of road noise. Two we are right by the bathrooms so lot's of noise from the code beeping on the doors. 3 we are about 6 feet from the other tent people. We all got snuggly and off to sleep. Well not for me. My husband is a little hard of hearing and my son is a sound sleeper. I'm not sure how much time passed but I'm guessing about a half hour I wake up to something look around we are all here go back to sleep. A little while later wake up again same thing. 3rd time wake up take out plugs and listen. Someone is yelling and screaming. Son and husband seem to be sleeping. I sit there listening to this about 10 min. I get up out of my nice snuggly bed unzip the tent and peek out. I see nothing but still here yelling lot's of yelling and now some fowl words. I get out of the tent and take a quick look around I don't see anything. I now have to go to the bathroom. When I get out of the bathroom it's quiet so I get back in my cuddly bed but I don't put in hear plugs. I'm waiting to hear police sirens or who knows what? I lay there for a while and all was quiet.

 In the morning my son says what was going on last night? He also heard the yelling and screaming. I told him about my night. We looked around in the morning everything seemed fine. I went into the office when it opened and asked about it. The girl working said she did not hear about any problems. They have a security guard on duty all night and have never had a problem. I feel better about this. She did say that where our site is right behind the wall it's about 8 feet high there is a motel that is not the best. She was guessing that it had to do with them. We have camped a lot and I never felt scared as I did that night. It had to be loud for my son to hear it. I don't know what happened over there but it did not sound good. This is something that went on for hours. And in the middle of the night never anything good! 

Now I'm tired because I hardly slept and we have a full day. I have to suck it up we are in Disneyland!

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Breakfast time my husband and I had breakfast in the clubhouse that we brought my son wanted something else. He asked if he could ride his bike down to Del Taco. I think it was a mile and a half away. This is something he heard about and wanted to try.I told him we would meet at DCA. We ate and headed out about the same time as yesterday. No problems getting through security was only about 4 people in front of us. Locked up are bikes and headed into Downtown Disney. Got a text from my son he was headed there. We took a slow walk in looking at shops and restaurants. Made are way into line and got held up. A women in front of us had the wrong pass she had her husbands by mistake. After talking to the CM for a few min he had her move to the side and called for assistance. In we are finally in. We sat on a bench at the entrance and waited for my son. 5 min later he was in. He had brought his food in and was eating there. I walked quickly over to the fast pass machine by Ariel and got us world of color  fast passes for tonight. This show was down last time so, we did not get to see it. I heard nothing but good things about it. We got 3 for the blue section. With that done I met the boys in Cars Land. We found the fast pass machine and got fast passes for Radiator Springs. The show fast pass does not count so, you can get another fast pass right away.

With all the business done it's ride time.

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